Antiskid device



May 19, 1953 F. J. MULHoLLAyD ANTISKID DEVICE Filed Jui 24, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

FRANK J MUL HOL LAND BY yw 192W v m ATTORNEYS.

May '19, 1953 F. JIM LHOLLAND 2,638,953

ANTISKID DEVICE Filed July 24, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 j .5 H H E INVENTOR. 5' fiPAN/(J MULHOLL/IND 5 BY 2/ WvMn ATTORNEYS.

approximately the same Patented May 19, 1953 2,638,955. V ALNTISKIDDEVIUE Mun-101mm,, newsman. Y.

Applioatinn July 124, 1948, Serial No. 403580 mobile. from skidding and which atqtheisame .can be. easily and quickly iastened to a wheel of the-automobile.

1 @hjects advantages. at the: inventien. be set forth in part herein-aftermath in part will heobvions herefrorn, or, may be learned: :bypractice with the: invention, the same being realized and attained by :means: of. the instrument-titties I combinations; pointed out. the anpended The invention consists. the novel parts. censtructions, arrangements. combinations and improvements herein shown. and described.

The accompanying drawings referred to heremsand constituting a nartnhereof illustrate -one embodiment, ofthe invention and together with the 'descriptionserve to explain the princinles of theiinvention.

Qif. the drawings: Fig r a front viewshowing. the. relationship Fig. 2 .isa. perspective view illustrating thespnearamee-of the. subject anti-skid. device. when it is-attached to a car wheel but with. the. wheel not beingshown;

Fig. :3 is a sectional view taken. through theline ,3.--3 of l and. showsin further. detail the manner-in. which the subject anti-skid device is 1 attached-to arr-automobile wheel; 7

the. anti-skid device Fig. 4 is a top: view of. its. attached position; and

.Ji-ig. i5 illustratestheappearance.oi the. flexible casing which fits tightly around antautnmobile tire. and comprises one of the important elements of the subject invention.

object ct this anti-skid. device: which can be. fastened to an automobile Wheel without having the driver or any service man crawl :under the car or reach behind to'theinboard to make a fastening.

A further object-of this invention is: to-proyide anti-skid device having: a casing which has flexibility, ri'dingcharlife as that. of

acteristics and length of service 1 the automobiletire to -Whichitisattaohed. Y

A still further object of inventionis to provide lateral as well as forward skidding of an automobile.

on which. it

inwentio-n is to provide an" sideof the wheel in order an anti-skid device which will prevent 1 Claim. (Cl. 152221) :ailtomnhil.e..;f5ronrnskidding in. either a longitudinal :or lateral: direction. 'The.-device.hasa.hasfirm; made. from. the. same. material the, antemobile tire: itseli. This: apeimatts. the ta tit over the: tire; allows a. rider .to chime: a smooth ride free of bumps and clanging noises, andmcreasee theseryice liffiifilfibhefldwifie. :Since the casing. extends. tor. appreciable. length around the circumierence of: the. it have a. to guide, the momement: of ta male latch-hing: member EIIGM inboard. to the outboard :side on the tire and to guide theinsertion os'fi the .malcilatchinga member intctthe female wlatchine memherbnrthe outboard-side ot the time.

A. steel bracket: attached to the inboard side of casing andsextendstotvarcls the center oi the automobile tire. to: :a point. above where: thespokes. or disc.- of the are connested tn the of the wheel.v The bracket :is

:bentso that ithas anv L-shape. Since the casin is item a, flexible. material and. since: the

zbraclretis bent at; a. point adjacent the :so

. :as tahaive anlL-shane, the bracket may beanulledl away from the inboard side when necessary. Thisste may:beamrformedin order to facilitate insertion hf thehcrizontarlleg of the 11;. through -.jadjacent spokes on disc apertures of the wheel to. the. outboard side. of the Hponi insertion of the horizontal. legof the heshaped' bracket throng-h the the outer :portion of horizontal leg passes through :a slot.- .a steel mate *whiclmii's fasteneds'to theoutboard side of themeing. latching member mounted upon the I p llate by a rivet so that. "it himtable about the rivet. The latch has a finger which passes a slot. the; horizontalleg? of. the L- :shaped' bracket, the .heingi pnsiitioned on; the

outboardisiderozfiathewaheel. oi ent' length tea: extend beyondthe: slut,

plate through which the-bracket passes and holds the-bazacketim attachment to the-plate... /A

spring attached to theglatching. member at one end and to the: :side of the-casing at-the: oth r also aids in prevcntinguthe'flzatcli from SH-pi n outof the :slot.,-in the bracket Referring now in'idetatl to. the embodiment of the invention shown by way :of illustration;

the accompanying drawings and: referring first to Fig. Lth-ere isws'howna device which will wevent skidding in either a longitudinal or-a lateral direction. For this purpose, a casing I0 is employed which fits snugly around the outer perimeter of an automobile tire 23. The casing is made from a flexible material, such as rubber or any other chemical composition having the desired properties. Preferably, the casing should be made from the same material as the tire itself so that the automobile, when traveling, will have as smooth a ride and as long a life as possible. The casing extends for a sufiicient length along the circumferential perimeter of the tire 23 to permit the casing to grip the tire as well as the roadway when the tire is rotating. It is this'considerable length of the casing along the circumferential perimeter of the tire, together with the considerable degree of rigidity of the casing because of its composition and dimensions, that makes possible the guidance of the end of the L-shaped-bracket, hereinafter to be described, through adjacent spokes or disc apertures by manipulation of the casing.

A rectangular aperture II is provided in the tread portion of the casing and is located centrally between the inner and outer sides of the casing tire. casing to grip the pavement firmly and is an instrumental factor in preventing skidding. The I casing has treads 2| of a conventional design to This cut-out portion permits the prevent the car from skidding forward or to either side, or backward in case the car is traveling backward.

The .fiexible casing is shaped to conform to the horizontal leg of the L extending from the inboard side of the wheel through one of the spaces 24:.provided between the wheel disc 25and the wheel'rim22 and then emerging on the outboard side of the wheel.. As may be seen, the horizontal leg of the bracket decreases in width as it approaches the. outboard side of the Wheelin order -.to permit control over the movement of. the nariv row .end of thebracket l3 during the installation by forces applied to the casing l and to permit a maximum strength to be attained by the vertical leg and at the same time allow the hori-,

zontal leg to fit between adjacent spokes. :1 bracket l3 has a plurality of slots at its out- L board side.

The

On its outboard side, the casing is fastened by the rivets 26 to a rigid plate l5 which also may -=be made from steel or any other material not 1 bendable under load. The plate hugs the outboard side of the tire 23 as it extends toward the central axis of the tire.

A slot I8 is cut through the plate at a point just above the inner surfaceof the wheel rim 22 and this slot serves 2 to contain the outer end of bracket l3, which passes through the slot. The plate also has a latch [6, which is fastened to its outer surface by a rivet [1, such that the latch is rotatable about the rivet H.

In order to attach the subject anti-skid device i contour of the encased tire 23 and extends around the tire positions on the inboard. and outboard sides of the tire. On the inboard side, the longitudinal edge of the casing is fastened by the rivets I 2 to a rigid bracket l 3 which may be made from a hard steel, or any other material which will have a negligible deflection under load. The bracket extends on the inboard side towards the central axis of the wheel and is bent at a point 1 just above the rim 22 of the wheel so that it has an arm which is substantially perpendicular to the arm just mentioned. As may be seen, this bracket is of substantially L shape, with the wheel by flexing the casing I0 and is then guided along the inner surface of the tire 23 by movement of the casing l0 so that its horizontal leg will be able to pass through the rim 22 from the inboard to the outboard side of the rim. As may be seen, the flexibility of the casing I0 facilitates this insertion through the rim because of the fact that it can move away from the tire which it encases. After passing through the inner side of the rim, the bracket is then inserted through the slot I8 in the plate l5, which is located on the outboard side of the wheel. The latch [6 on the plate I5 is now lifted and is thereafter lowered so that the finger l9 passes through the bracket slot I4. The finger I9 is of sufficient length to contact that part of the plate which lies' below the slots I4 and thus helps to prevent the bracket I 3 from slipping out of engagement with the plate 15. A'tension spring 20, fastened at one end to the latch l6 and at the other end to the side of the casing also serves to prevent the finger [9 from slipping out of the bracket slot Id.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described, but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claim without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

What is claimed is:

An anti-skid device for use on an automobile wheel having a rim and a tire mounted thereon,

comprising, in combination, an anti-skid casing formed as a curved strip of material having about the flexible characteristics of a pneumatic tire casing and adapted to fit closely about the transverse circumferential perimeter of the tire; a rigid bracket having a first portion rigidly secured to and overlapping said anti-skid casing at its inboard side and extending substantially in prolongation thereof toward the wheel axis, and another portion integrally connected to said first portion and angularly turned with respect thereto, extending substantially parallel to the axis of the wheel and adapted to be positioned radially inwardly of the rim and presenting an end thereof at the outboard side of the wheel; a rigid plate secured to and overlapping said anti-skid casing at its outboard side and extending substantially in prolongation thereof toward the wheel axis; an aperture in said plate adapted to receive the end of said bracket; a plurality of apertures in said bracket adjacent the end thereof; a latch carried by said plate and alternately engageable with one of said apertures in said bracket for detachably interconnecting said plate and said bracket; and spring means for urging said latch into engagement with one of said apertures in said bracket.

FRANK J. MULHOLLAND.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,358,975 Mudge Nov. 16, 1920 1,505,859 Bulgarides Aug. 19, 1924 1,570,851 Metcalfe Jan. 26, 1926 1,767,451 Hedge June 24, 1930 1,854,616 Lowe -1 Apr. 19, 1932 2,198,883 Pattison Apr. 30, 2940 2,453,426 Freed Nov. 9, 1948 2,467,017 Eger Apr. 12, 1949 

